Sorry to ruffle your feathers: Chick-fil-A says no to Hayden
CRAIG NORTHRUP/Press While a sign on Government Way promising a future Chick-fil-A was de-bunked and taken down, Zip’s owner Casey Minor said the longtime North Idaho icon was open for business and happy to offer, among other goodies, chicken sandwiches. Chick-fil-A verified through a spokesperson Monday morning the company was not responsible for planting the outdated sign and had no plans to come to North Idaho anytime soon.
HAYDEN — A sign promising residents a soon-to-be restaurant let rumors run wild last week like a chicken with its head cut off.
Chick-fil-A said Monday that those rumors were for the birds, officially denying that the Georgia chain is planning a Government Way restaurant anytime soon.
Consultant Natalie Giddens of CP Communications, the public relations firm that works with Chick-fil-A, said the chicken sandwich icon does not have its sights set on North Idaho.
“We are always evaluating potential new locations in the hopes of serving existing and new customers great food with remarkable service,” Giddens said. “While we hope to serve the Hayden ... community in the future, we do not currently have any locations planned for this area and have not installed any signage announcing a future opening.”
The sign first appeared Dec. 17 at 9244 N. Government Way, in the empty lot due south of Zip’s Restaurant. The sign gave new hope to chicken lovers waiting for the promised land of poultry.
“Coming Soon,” it read, “Chick-fil-A, Home of the original chicken sandwich.”
The sign was removed last weekend, but its promise lived on, quickly proliferating throughout the community and spreading its wings online before City Hall did some digging. The answer from city officials left a bad taste in residents’ mouths.
“Usually, when a company like [Chick-fil-A] is coming, they’ll come in [to City Hall],” said city administrator Brett Boyer. “They’ll ask to make sure the zoning’s correct, and that the location was correct. If the land use was already set, they’d come in for a pre-application meeting and gather information. Nobody has done anything like that.”
Hearts broke. Chickens rejoiced. But Chick-fil-A remained oddly silent ... until Monday, when Giddens officially denied the rumor, adding the signage was likely planted as a hoax.
“I don’t have any idea,” she said. “Not sure where that sign came from, but it uses an old Chick-fil-A logo, which is another indication that it’s not legitimate.”
Not everyone was fooled by the perpetrator’s game of chicken.
“We knew it was a hoax all along,” Hayden Zip’s owner Casey Minor said. “I don’t think Chick-fil-A would’ve put one of their restaurants there. It’s not really in keeping with their business model. There are other places they would’ve put one.”
Minor did have a recommendation for food fans hankering for a good chicken sandwich and other tasty meals: the Hayden Zip’s on Government Way. And that’s no hoax.